A Pilot Study of Major Burn Injury on Human Adipose Derived Stem Cell Migration, Wound Healing, and Bioenergetics

Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) play an important role in conserving tissue homeostasis and have promise in wound healing strategies in particular for burn patients. This in vitro study examined the effects of burn injuries on ADSC migration and wound healing. We hypothesized that burn injury may impact ADSC function and metabolic activity. Adipose tissue was collected from initial debridement surgeries of severely burned patients. Control ADSC samples were collected from patients undergoing elective plastic surgery procedures. A scratch assay was performed by making a scratch in the ADSC monolayer and migration was captured over a 24-hour period. Cell Mito Stress kit tests were performed to measure metabolic potential. ADSCs extracted from burn patients showed an increase in cell migration, although this difference was not significant (p>0.05). ADSCs isolated from burn patients showed a significant increase in cell velocity (p=0.02), Euclidean distance (p=0.03), and accumulated distance (p=0.02) compared to ADSCs isolated from unburned patients. There was no difference in mitochondrial function between burn and unburned ADSCs (p>0.05). ADSCs isolated from burn patients demonstrated a different wound healing profile compared to ADSCs from non-burn tissue. Future studies are needed to further characterize ADSC function after burn injury.